Going back to the brand’s first releases in 2016, Portland, Oregon-based Vero has implemented color in interesting ways. Pieces like its introductory VS-paired electric-blue accents with matching subdial hands, while more recent iterations of the unconventionally styled Workhorse Chronograph (and its U.S. Forest Service derivatives) have leaned on bright hues as both highlights and unmissable focal points. But since it arrived in 2021, the brand’s first dive watch has remained a politely customary affair. Until now, the Open Water’s bravest dial variants emerged late with the bright yellow Dawn Patrol and emergency vest orange Daybreak launching just over a year and a half ago. For 2024, the brand has updated not just the dials, but made bold changes to the bezel while shrinking the 41mm watch to a currently popular 38mm. Other touches like the addition of NodeX clasps, a redesigned bracelet, and most shockingly, a reduced price point make the new Open Water 38 divers one of the more compelling releases from an American microbrand so far this year.

Aside from their reduced size, the new Open Water 38 watches are most noticeable for their captivating matte finishes in what the brand calls Cove (white) and Swell (the neon version). The divers pair blasted steel bracelets and cases with similarly matched dials and bezels. Whereas the previous Open Water watches offered contrasting color pairings for the two, the new Open Water 38s take on a unified look that helps them appear larger than their actual size. This coloration is thanks to the work of another Oregon-based company, NIC Industries, creators of Cerakote. A proprietary ceramic-based finish long popular in the firearms community, Cerakote has only recently begun to appear on watches with brands like Undone and Unimatic conducting early experiments before more recent implementations by the Nodus x Raven collaboration and Vero’s aforementioned Workhorse watches. Applied correctly, Cerakote adds an extremely robust shell that won’t crack, fade, or chip even under the harshest conditions. With this watch, it’s used judiciously on the bezel and dial to create a cohesive look that reaches from edge to edge. Collectors will also notice the Open Water 38’s updated bezel markings, with 12-hour numerals in a new font replacing the last-gen dive bezel, including its signature “00” indication at the top.

Other updates to the Open Water’s new size variant appear on the dial. While the 41mm version has a more symmetrical look with a double-bar marker at the top and elongated single-bars at 3:00, 6:00, and 9:00, the smaller 2024 version unifies things with (almost) square markers all around, save for a chopped-off mini marker at 6:00. Brightly lumed and matched to the hands, the black-outlined indications give an almost illustrated look to the watch that comports with other designs from Vero’s catalog. Changed too is the dial text, with a 20 ATM water-resistance notation replacing the previously seen “Automatic”. An uncapped seconds hand may spark debate among nit-pickers, thanks to a reverse-lume scheme whose black tip makes it more readable in daylight, but less useful at night. Consistently absent from the original, the new Open Water 38s are each no-dates, a seemingly prudent choice given the brand’s extremely clean design language.

The engine inside the Open Water 38 is the familiar, yet reliable, Sellita SW-200-1 movement, the more shock-resistant evolution of the original SW-200 movement. With a passable 38-hour power reserve, the caliber is retained from the original, and for good reason. One of the most popular (not to mention affordable) Swiss-made movements on the market, the Sellita SW-200-1 is a no-nonsense movement that promises not to fuss. Decently thin on its own and with a flat sapphire crystal, the other benefit of using said movement is its ability to maintain the Open Water’s relatively slim profile. While the original Open Water measured an impressive 11mm thin, the new 38mm versions manage to shave off another quarter millimeter, bringing the thickness down to just 10.75mm. Among those concerned with such minutiae, this is an achievement, putting the Open Water 38 in close contention with the current 20 ATM microbrand diver champ, the Henry Archer Nordsø.

As this is a nearly complete redesign of the Open Water, it’s only fitting the bracelet and clasp would get a full rethink as well. Swapping male end links for female ones to enhance wearability will surely appease many collectors, but the update might also be a nice option on the 41mm version someday. Additionally, while the Open Water 38’s reported 46.5mm lug-to-lug measurement is appealing, it begs comparison to the reported 47mm length of the original Open Water. Shrinking the overall diameter by 3mm but the lug length by only 0.5mm seems unlikely given Vero’s other fan-oriented changes and thus requires further investigation. Regardless, the overall fit ought not be too affected, particularly thanks to the redesigned bracelet. Tapered from 18mm wide at the lugs to 16mm at the clasp, the Open Water 38 is fitted with the increasingly prominent NodeX clasp. Developed by Nodus, the brand has licensed its use to other makers like Vero and the NodeX’s patented on-the-fly adjustment has been a welcome addition to many releases in recent years. While the bracelet appears to be a winning option by any measurement, those seeking maximum versatility will be pleased the Open Water 38 (like its larger cousin) ships with a black tropic strap closed with a pin buckle.

For a watch with many compelling features, one of the most compelling is surely the price. Rarely does a brand offer pricing distinctions for derivative sizes of the same watch but here, Vero bucks that trend. At launch, the Open Water 38 is priced at $795 USD while the original sits at $875 USD. Exactly how the brand is able to offer a discount while implementing this much redesign (a very capital-intensive endeavor on its own), plus integrate a proprietary clasp and treat the thing with a special Cerakote finish is not clear but as the saying goes, don’t look a Workhorse, er, gift horse in the mouth. With thousands of shades listed online (there are 28 different types of the color blue), the possible combinations of Cerakote bezels and dials are essentially limitless. Will the Open Water emerge as a platform for further color experimentation? If Vero’s past releases are a clue, the answer is yes. But until that time, fans searching for a robust, unique, and surprisingly svelte 200m diver need look no further. For more information on the Vero Open Water 38, please visit the brand’s website.